It may be difficult to write a book on the most powerful family on the planet without being forced to spin it favorably for them. Niall Ferguson got access to a lot of private family documents to write this, so he stays away from the many controversies this family has been embroiled in. He reports the early history of the Rothschild ascendency- including Nathan's notorious swindling of the entire British stock exchange immediately following Napolean's defeat at Waterloo- but obviously this is just one side (a very favorable side) of the story. The true parasitic nature of the Bank of England on the British people is never mentioned, and that model (repeated in many nations since) is really at the heart of this banking cabal's power.